Editorial: A new brand needs a big attraction to be a success

No matter how much Nevada tries to diversify its economy, this remains a visitor-dependent state. And, as Gov. Brian Sandoval told the revived Governor's Conference on Tourism on Tuesday, that's not likely to change any time soon.

When an industry accounts for 30 percent of a state's jobs and 26 percent of state and local tax revenue, as the tourism, travel and hospitality industry does in Nevada, attention must be paid.

The only real question is how Nevada is going to compete for the tourist dollar in an era of increasing competition: What is Nevada offering that other areas don't?

Equally important, how can Nevada and its various regions cut through the clutter at a time when their customers are, in the words of Terry Jones, the chairman of Kayak.com, "Internet empowered, technically savvy, time-starved and information rich."

It's a question that everyone in business, regardless of the industry, has to ask himself or herself today.

One answer offered by Sandoval at the conference was a new "brand" that will be unveiled in the spring with a significant marketing campaign.

Fair enough. Marketing unquestionably plays an important role in attracting customers, especially when it conveys a message that catches the audience by surprise, tells them something they don't know and sticks in the brain.

Nevadans will have to wait for a few more months before they pass judgment on the new brand identity proposed by Nevada's Commission on Tourism.

But marketing is a tool - educating the audience and providing information; it isn't, and never will be, the bottom line for attracting tourists.

If we want visitors, we have to give them a reason to visit, a reason that can't be easily duplicated elsewhere.

That's the lesson that the casino industry, especially in Northern Nevada, has learned to its dismay in recent years.

For some 75 years, Nevada had the advantage over other states because it legalized casino gambling and they didn't. Nevada resorts were able to provide a lot of perks to gamblers that others couldn't - a variety of restaurants, big-name entertainment, fancy suites - because gambling paid the bills.

The spread of gambling, thanks in large part to Indian gaming, has changed all that. Once the casinos opened in California, for instance, they could provide the same attractions that any Nevada casino offered. It doesn't take great ingenuity to duplicate a good steakhouse, buffet or showroom.

Northern Nevada has done a good job of looking beyond the casinos, with museums, locally owned restaurants and some excellent outdoor attractions - ski resorts, hiking trails, a whitewater park on the Truckee River, bowling, baseball and so on - but it still lacks the must-see, must-do, unique anchor that gambling once provided.

That's where the focus must be today, if the new brand is to be successful.

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Editorial: A new brand needs a big attraction to be a success

No matter how much Nevada tries to diversify its economy, this remains a visitor-dependent state. And, as Gov. Brian Sandoval told the revived Governor's Conference on Tourism on Tuesday, that's not

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